And so years passed on, Hereward in favor at court, and he and
Torfrida, his Flemish wife, living happily in the castle which William's
bounty had provided them.
There is more than one story of Hereward's final fate. One account says
that he ended his days in peace. The other, more in accordance with the
spirit of the times and the hatred and jealousy felt by many of the
Norman nobles against this English protege of the king, is so stirring
in its details that it serves as a fitting termination to the Hereward
romance.
The story goes that he kept close watch and ward in his house against
his many enemies. But on one occasion his chaplain, Ethelward, then on
lookout duty, fell asleep on his post. A band of Normans was
approaching, who broke into the house without warning being given, and
attacked Hereward alone in his hall.
He had barely time to throw on his armor when his enemies burst in upon
him and assailed him with sword and spear. The fight that ensued was one
that would have gladdened the soul of a Viking of old. Hereward laid
about him with such savage energy that the floor was soon strewn with
the dead bodies of his foes, and crimsoned with their blood. Finally the
spear broke in the hero's hand.
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